TR Snippet - Video Pokerx

VIDEO POKER

ROYAL AT THE D

I went up the escalator to the D to head for bed because I was exhausted, but decided just to put in $20 at the Vue Bar because the quad progressive was up to over $50. 
In a few hands I hit quad 3's and then another quad.  Trips came regularly.  I was thinking of quitting at $60, but decided to play down to $40.  More good hands put me above $100 and I decided to play down to $100, figuring an $80 profit was better than the average session.
I was dealt K-KQT7 of diamonds.  I held the 3 Royal cards and up popped the A and Jack for a royal flush which was worth $1087 on the progressive meter.  Very nice.
This was not the right play.  The kings outranked the three to the royal and the penalty 7 added weight to not playing the royal draw.
Still, I played the long shot.
So in a trip where I have been up or down each day, hovering around $300 or less each way, I went for a few days over $900 up.  I tipped the bartender a ten and the hand pay person a five.  In one way that annoys me.  At the Four Queens all the money just goes into the machine electronically.  No fussing about hand pays.  But still I tend to tip and this was a progressive hit, so the added money more than covered the tip. 
Another way to look at it is that my new diet of low drinking saved me bartender tips.  I drank just one merlot and they brought me another when I hit and tipped. 

ORLEANS


Bill likes the senior Tuesday deals, and so we played our favorite triple play nickel progressive DB and earned chances to play the free video poker tournament. 
I play an all or nothing tournament strategy on the Double Double Bonus they use as a pay table.  All pairs are split.  I often pick just one Ace,  Two, Three, Four and hope for more quads.  It is not like a cash game because the score is all or nothing. 
We had earned two sessions each and my four Aces and one other Quad put me in the lower winners, so the next day I had $50 of freeplay.  I played It off and for a while afterwards, but left with $30 profit.
On the triple nickel play I caught 9 quads. You would think that would give me a good profit, but it did not.  Bill caught just one or two and then hit a royal.  He was farther ahead than I was.  He just missed a $400 royal as it was hit just before he hit.  Too bad.


SAM'S TOWN

I started with full pay dime deuces (nickel with 10 for full pay) and was up $30 in the morning and then down $15 by the time of the show.  After the show the nickel machines were full, so I decided to give quarters a shot and that was a good decision.  Often in video poker the mid paying hands will be good, but no jackpot hands will come, or jackpots will come and the middle paying hands will drain profits.  I stayed even with midpaying hands, hitting quads time and time again.  Then, all of a sudden, there was a king and four deuces. 
My first thought was, "Oh, good.... five of a kind" and then I realized...duh...... that I had hit much better than five of a kind.  I left up over $200.
Sam's Town and some of the Station Casinos offer a promotion which is common with a coupon from the American Casino Guide, but on some days it requires no coupon. 
If you play a certain number of points, you get a free buffet or a free movie with no points deducted.  I played on movie day and managed two free movies.  They give movie passes, good at any Cinemark movie for the month.
There was nothing that caught my interest on the day I was there, but when Bill and I went to the next Toast of the Town we saw
Bad Grandpa  afterwards, and I loved it. It is filmed like Candid Camera with real people in many of the scenes.  The Grandpa is outrageous and very funny.
Afterward I took another $30 from the nickel deuces.  I did not hit even one wild royal, but ground out a little profit with 5  and 4 of a kind.  I like the game.

I don't really know the Deuces game and I should have spent more time on the Dancer's tutor in practice before I went.  I did some practice there in the room, but I often too time to check plays on a sheet and see what to do.

EASTSIDE CANNERY

Sometimes I play video poker just to keep points current and use freeplay.  It took me forever to figure out how to load my $3 of freeplay.  It turns out that when one gets to the place where it shows the $3, we have to pick a box marked "other" and that will load it. 
Totally counterintuitive, but then I've found the Eastside promotions are as a rule counter intuitive. 
That being said, they have a new system where you swipe at a kiosk and get deals.  It takes a long while, but at least for locals who can collect game pieces over many visits, it might be a good deal.
On some of my trips, however, the kiosks were broken.
I played their 9/6/90 JOB and lost my first $20 and free play fairly quickly.  My second $20 was to be my last at risk and it played up and down forever before I hit $40.50 to cash out with a 50 cent profit and went for my free buffet courtesy of the Webpass program.
My first visit to the Eastside Cannery scored:  One nice hat (they have some of the classiest casino logo hats)  One free buffet eaten and enjoyed.  Vouchers for 2 for 1 buffet and three free drinks.  And 50 cent profit.  Also I did enjoy the JOB.
On my next visit I dropped $100 in the same JOB, so I guess they got their promotion's worth out of me.  That time they had sent me $12 of freeplay for November.  However, like all counterintuitive promotions, I could not play it until the 3rd of November. 
How stupid is that!

So I have a love/hate relationship with the Eastside Cannery.  Some of it is just great; some of it is pretty lame.
I tried to see a standard room and get the idea of the size of the bathroom, but they would not show me a room.  Strange.  I expect to stay all downtown next trip with maybe one brief trip out to Boulder, perhaps a Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday.  I want to be able to see Claudine Castro late Monday night and the Toast of the Town on Thursday.  And I hope to make those days a window for my local relatives to come out and meet up with me.  Maybe I'll just spring for the big bucks and get a corner room.  I know those bathtubs are deep and wide and would be great for these psoriasis soaks that seem to do so much good for my skin.

THE D

After days of terrible results at Double Bonus at the Four Queens,  I started with $100 in the Bonus game at the Vue
Bar in the D. In spite of the fact that the royal had gone to  over $1200  and would generate tax paperwork. I went down to about $50 and stayed in that place a long while, up or down ten dollars.  Then I had four Aces dealt to me.  I played longer and caught four nines and then I had four tens dealt to me.  When I caught four Aces for the second time, I decided to quit and wait for the quad bonus to fill up again. 
Had I hit the Aces on Double Bonus I would have earned another $200 just on those hits as well as more on the other quads.  Strange. 
It did put me back up for the trip, however.
I liked playing at the D.  It is quieter than the Four Queens.  The music is oldies and they have large bottled of Perrier and a decent merlot.  That all makes me happy.
The Deuces Wild nickel machine is still there as well.  One woman was on it and stayed on it for the hour or so, but other times I had time to play it.  I made no money on it.

My first quarter bet on the Sigma Derby snagged a winning exacta that paid 61 to 1.  I had not other wins, but cashed out up about $15.
 

TR Snippet - Riding the Busx

Walgreen's at the downtown location still sells 15 and 30 day all access passes, including senior discounts.  My 15 day was just under $18.


I had a good time in Vegas and rode buses often on my 15 day senior reduced bus pass.

The upscale week of my trip was all with cabs.  I learned that it is under $10 before tip  to get from the Orleans to the Aria.  That seemed really reasonable, and it was very quick.  In some cases, especially when four people are involved, cabs are cheaper than buses. 

However, Elizabeth and I cabbed from the airport to the Orleans.  It was more than I expected.  About $24 with tip.  I remembered to ask for no tunnel, but the fellow did drive leisurely and the lights along Tropicana were all red. 
He was milking us.

This confirms my bus intentions for solo.  It would have cost me just two dollars by bus, but at least a half hour and perhaps an hour more in travel time.

Elizabeth is not riding the buses.

BHX/HDX

I never took the ride I planned on the HDX to Sunset Station or Fiesta Henderson.  Perhaps I'll do it next time.  One bus driver told me that I should just get the HDX at the BTC, but I am unsure whether he meant just during the Life is Beautiful or always..

I've decided that the best advice to give tourists  downtown is to have them go to the BTC for either of these buses, simply because it is simple and unlikely to be changed.  In front of Binions is a bus stop that serves the SDX, the WAX, the CX and DVX and each one of these buses goes to the BTC fairly quickly from that location. 

Be careful to get off at the BTC as overshooting with some of the buses will put you a long way from where you want to be.
Then at the BTC the bay for the BHX is just inside the wall and there is shade to be found and seats and even a bathroom if you have time. 

I did.

So even though it backtracks the path of the bus, it may just be the most practical and easy for tourists who want to go up Boulder.
Sam's Town has a free shuttle as well.  I have not taken it and did not have times written down.
If you don't mind the old Western Casino neighborhood and are up at the El Cortez, then you can walk up  to catch the BHX there and save some time, but sometimes your bus stop companions may be a bit seedy. 
Going to the BTC puts you out of any bus stop issues.  You will find seedy characters on the bus, but there is an accessible driver now and for one of my trips there was a security guard so less difficulties for those of you uncomfortable with the lower middle class folks.

USING THE WAX ON THE WEEKENDS

I used the WAX from this same Binions spot on the weekends to offset the strip traffic.  It comes every hour, but was predictable with one glance at the schedule posted at the stop.  the times I was going the bus came 26 minutes after the hour so that was very easy.  It is a simple ride to Tropicana.

They will not tell you that at the stop.  The RTC guides posted at the Binions stop particularly stress that the bus goes to the airport and not to the strip. 

I said as I boarded that that seemed untrue, and the bus driver first said that he had worked that corner and that to say it would be a strip bus for some opened it up to a million questions. 

That did not make much sense since those folks at the Binions stop answer questions all the time and shout out loud instructions.  How hard would it be once an hour to announce that the coming bus would go to Tropicana, NYNY, MGM, and Excalibur?

Then he said that the bus company wanted to keep that WAX from getting overcrowded so there was always room for passengers and their luggage.  That made more sense, but it was still disingenuous.  I wish that we could always get accurate, consistent, and complete information from the RTC.  If their time studies show the WAX is crowding up, maybe it could run every half hour.

 

 

On Friday and Saturday nights It was a real advantage to take the WAX and just walk from Tropicana to wherever I wanted to go.  It is a shame the bus company can't find a way to explain that to people. 

 

OVERCROWDING

I was surprised that the nights I took the Deuce home from the Venetian there was no real crowd. This was not my experience last trip from that stop.

 

Once, after going to the Orleans and catching the SDX just North of MGM to go up to Riviera, I was not allowed entry on the first and fullest bus, but another came just a few minutes afterwards and it was not crowded.  Bumper to bumper traffic made it a long journey to the Riviera but it was not so bad.  I had  a seat.

I also had a good travel companion.

when I had asked the WAX driver whether to walk North or South for the SDX (lots of construction around there now and I wanted to be sure) this woman said I should just follow her as she was going in that direction.

She had recently moved from LA to Vegas with her three children.  Friends and family worried she would not do well, but she had a job at Home Depot, a 3 bedroom apartment that cost half the price of a one bedroom, and good daycare for the younger kids, some of that free at school.  She was very happy and would bring her mother out the next month.  She was happy too to have escaped a drug using husband.

BUS
There were so many changes this trip, especially in the BHX and HDX stops out of downtown.  Apparently the HDX can only be caught at the BTC or at the Outlet Mall as it gets right on 15.  And yet I saw a stop mentioned downtown at Ogden and Fourth.    This many have been a change only to accommodate the Life is Beautiful Festival.

Life is Beautiful; Not for bus riders. 
 
That was the concensus among locals forced out of their routine by this festival.  Buses were detoured.  Stops were closed.  It was really a nightmare and the routes were changed well before the festival started. 
To ride the bus up to Sam's Town I had to walk to Maryland from the stop at the old Western.  I was happy it was early in the morning.  Coming home, a guard on the bus suggested I get off at Maryland, but I opted out of that.  I was dropped me at 3rd and Carson out of that risky neighborhood between the Western and Maryland.  I suggest that if you are staying at the El Cortez, you don't ask where the closest bus drop off is located.  Ask for the closest to the Fremont Experience and walk from there.  That is the saftest, but the bus drivers and guards and locals will think that the physically located closest stop to the El Cortez is the ideal.
I was stupid not to have gone for the Sam's Town shuttle bus going out, but I did not bring the schedule, and I was at the El Cortez.  The free shuttle  is faster than the BHX, but it only comes every hour and twenty minutes so wait time can erode the benefit. It is free, but that is a moot point for me as I have an unlimited pass. 

Coming back I left from Eastside Cannery so the BHX was convenient and I took it again rather than walk to Sam's Town.

Sam's Town prints a fine little booklet with all that information.  I just had not put one in my pocket this trip.

The BHX bus is much different.  Those old user UNfriendly ticket machines are gone as well as 3 door boarding.  They board only from the front where there is a driver to ask questions.  Security hops on and off at random.  I like it better as the BHX does collect from the lowest economic class and always there are some rather unusual folks riding.  I like it that the driver is not all tucked away in his little cave.
I miss the HDX stopping at Sam's Town.  That has changed a 16 minute ride into a 45 minute ride.
I talked a long while with a security guard on the BHX and the driver there knew the routes. My morning driver had not and did not read his electronic map well.

I rode the BHX back from Sam's Town on Halloween.  There were a few costumes on the bus.  A young guy from Denver was on his way to the Greyhound station and I showed him the stop and how to walk there without getting bogged down with his luggage in the Fremont Experience crowds.  They were very thick.  I should have taken my own advice and gone a back route to the Golden Nugget for a late buffet.

WAX

After the upscale week of my trip, I rode to the ariport with my wife in a cab.  From Departures I crossed the street to Baggage and found Ground Zero.
I just missed the bus from the airport by 6 minutes and had to wait the rest of the hour, but the bus ride was comfortable and easy for luggage.  I was prepared with a book, Francine Prose's Blue Angel (which has nothing to do with the Vegas Blue Angel) and the jumble letter puzzle from that morning's paper,  so the bench on a pleasant day kept me well entertained.  There was a long stream of 109 buses.  If I had not had the large suitcase, I might have taken one of those, but the WAX is so comfortable with luggage and such a fast ride that it is generally worth the wait.

BEST BUS RIDE

I hopped on the SDX at Paris and sat in the seats facing the exit.  To my right were three girls who had been attracted by the Life is Beautiful Festival.  One was from Scotland and her accent was a delight.  Another sang songs and overacted the stage moves.  She was both funny and entertaining.  In front of them sat Mickey, a light skinned Black fellow with a huge frizzy Afro and carrying a backpack.
On came two from Washington state who had been married just 3 hours ago.  Both had T shirts with glittering "Bride" on one and "Groom" on the other. They were a bit of an odd couple, not classic beauties,  probably in their forties, short, with unusual faces.
He was in old jeans.  Both were delighted with each other and the day and the trip.  They were fun to watch.  At one point he turned to her and said, "Isn't this just a fun trip?"
They had been together for two years and finally decided to marry.
Mickey gave them his seat, so they could sit together and the Scottish girl with friends got wind of the circumstances,  so a fuss was made and photos needed to be taken. 
And "Going to the Chapel and We're Going to Get Married" had to be sung with stage moves acted by the one girl. 
Mickey moved back to sit by the Scottish girl and they both had a fine conversation.  He was not trying to hit on her, just be friendly. 
He had a backpack with what he called bootleg beer; it was Bud in a can that he sold on the strip for $2. 
The Scottish girl bought two cans, opened them and passed them up to the married couple to help them celebrate.
It was a reception of sorts with this motley collection of folks from all over,  all delighted to celebrate a wedding. 
I loved it.  I stayed quiet and just enjoyed the conversation, all the fuss and laughter and joking. 
I felt once again old. 
This entire crowd at the Life is Beautiful Festival has made me feel old.
 
Mickey was off at an early stop  to go home and watch "The Good Wife."
The rest of us were off near the Fremont Experience, at a stop on Carson, probably a detour and part of Festival changes.

Like the poker table, the strip buses give us an opportunity to meet, enjoy and interact with people from all over the world.  Many of them are out on a lark of some sort, happy and celebrating.  For me, that interaction is a large part of the trip.  I can't go everywhere in the world;  in Vegas, small appetizing bits of the World come to me.
 

TR Snippets - Party going with Brother Jim

In the evening of our day of Venetian gambling, brother Jim took us to two parties that were fabulous.  First we went to the top of The Hotel at Mandalay Bay, high above Vegas with all the city spread out around us.  Even the bathroom had glass walls so taking a leak we were looking out at miles of lights.  It was pretty sensational. 
The folks here were very friendly, and I was in a few interesting conversations.  There were some very beautiful women to watch.  It was great.
Waiters came around with chicken on a stick, small bites of sesame seed steak in a dark sauce, small round crackers with smoked salmon and shrimp on a stick.  We could sit at that party, and they would bring the free wine to us.  It was delicious too. 
I sat with a fellow and his wife from Mexico.  As it turned out, she spoke no English, so with his help on my errors, I engaged her around gambling in Spanish, and I was surprised how easy the Spanish came to me.  She liked it because she had been isolated.  I took their photo with the city behind them.  It was a fine visit.  He was part of a union and we did talk about unions and how important they were for us.
Another fellow liked hearing all about all my Vegas deals and coupons.  He was the husband of one of the women who work with Jim, and she was delightful as well.  We talked some of retirement. She is almost ready.
A very pretty woman named Sara and two of her friends talked with Jim for quite a while, and listening in I got a better idea of what it might be like to hear him do business as they were working out some business details. 
Her beautiful face was lit from below by the soft red lights so that in the conversation she was animated and a delight to watch.  Another very pretty woman who works in television journalism joked and talked with us for a long while.   I just had a great time.
From there we went to a second party in the Mix night club. 
That was amazing!
Checking in was very odd.  It did not seem they took our names.  They had to see a photo ID, but my Vegas bus ID was enough, and they did not check my birthdate. 
 The music boomed and one entire large wall and ceiling was a screen that had light displays and sometime windows where people pushed their hands and bodies against the glass as if they were on the other side.  
Other performers danced in costume around the night club or performed bungy jumps from the top of the wall.  One woman came into the center of the dance floor suspended high above the dancers on a ring. She did acrobatics on the ring. 
The dance floor was packed and Elizabeth passed on dancing.  We did not stay long, but it did give me an idea of what a
Vegas night club might look like.  However, the mix of people were older than the usual young clubbers, and not dressed to the nines.
There was no food at the second party, but we could drink.  I had had my three wines by then, but Elizabeth got a second beer.  All free.
We walked into the Red Square bar, but it was not as much the bar of ice that I thought I remembered.  The real Ice Bar was upstairs and cost an entrance fee to experience.  They dressed customers up against the cold.
http://www.mandalaybay.com/entertainment/lounges/minus5-ice-lounge/
We went back to Jim's room and talked until we could not stay awake. 

Another night he took us to a party at the Mob museum, but it was mobbed and not as nice as the other.  Particularly disconcerting was in a room with graphic photographs of bloody bodies there was a fellow carving a roast of beef.  Yuck!!  Really insensitive juxtaposition.
This helped my no meat diet, but did not do much for the party.

Actually, I am probably not a very good audience for the mob museum. 
Why celebrate murderers?  Will we have a Somalian pirate museum soon or how about a museum to celebrate terrorist suicide bombers?

I'd rather see semi-naked show girls myself.  Or see all the Vegas spread out below me while I sip read wine and practice my Spanish.

TR Snippet photos

Elizabeth and I walked around the Caesar's shops and I brought my camera.  I take so few photos in Vegas, but here is a nice collection from that day.

 

TR Snippet - Visuals

I was too tired to make  a trip to the museum on the Campus.  That and the Bull Fighting would have been fine on the same day, and one other day I got close to going.  But I did not go.  I was sorry to have missed it. 

Elizabeth and I toured a fine gallery in Caesar's with something of Marc Chagall, but I can't remember exactly what.  I like his work
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marc_Chagall

I know nothing about art.  I only know what I like.  As a viewer of art I am total cliché.
And for that reason I don't like much modern or abstract art. 

What really caught my attention here was the Rober Deyber collection of art that develops puns on an old sayings like "Bad Hair Day"  of Doggie Paddle."  These were a good bit of fun.

https://www.google.com/search?q=robert+deyber.com&rls=com.microsoft:en-US&rlz=1I7ADFA_enUS467&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=RUN9UoHdFM-24AOJxYHYDA&ved=0CEcQsAQ&biw=1067&bih=447

We could have paid at Caesar's to see Andy Warhol, but this place had the Marilyn Monroe collection in the back.  That was more than enough Warhol for my taste.

I also liked the Picazzo Aquatints.  At least it says so in my notes.  I don't remember these particular pieces on this website appearing at this gallery.  But they give an idea of the work.
http://martinlawrence.com/picasso_frames/picasso2.html

Wandering here was all free.  Free art is my favorite art.

THE AQUARIUM

At Caesar's we also visited the aquarium and watched these fine and unusual fishes swim around the tank.  I like this little aquarium as well as most that I see.  Silverton is interesting, but I really like this one better.

I like fish very much, and especially when they are free.

BELLAGIO

We visited the Fiori de Como blown glass in the lobby of Bellagio and we toured their conservatory.  Maybe I was tired, but it did not move me as it often does.  However, I did note that even in my tired and jaded sense, the blown glass here was much, much better than the piece at Foxwoods that is similar in theme.

http://www.bellagio.com/attractions/fiori-di-como.aspx

I was very excited to show my wife the sculptures that depict art in the lobby just before going into O.
http://www.bellagio.com/shopping/richard-macdonald.aspx

She is very interested in dance and body movement and part of an International group that practices Authentic Movement, a rather abstract sort of movement meditation.  I thought this would be a highlight of the trip.

She did not like it.

After seeing how it was made, she softened a bit. 
After seeing O she softened a bit more, but in her mind his sculpture exaggerated and contorted the looks of bodies and they ceased to be beautiful.
And she may have softened just because she saw how disappointed I was.  I had seen this my last trip to Vegas, and thought about her on my last trip, and was very excited to see it with her.

Now O she loved.
And Zumanity as well, for different reasons.

UGLINESS

The strip is the opposite of artistic.  All of NYNY and Monte Carlo are walled off by those ugly construction metal and wood monstrosities that allow just a tunnel for walkers.  Bill's looked like it had suffered a bomb attack and I understand that those who stayed that week in Flamingo learned what real noise might be and learned it before breakfast.
I've really had it with the strip. It just never seems to be finished.  Eternal rebuilding is part of some section of the strip.
I know there will continue to be renovation downtown as well.  Plans are to make huge improvements around the new Grand and create a neighborhood that appeals the way East Fremont was created out of that haven for the street people. 
But somehow it is not quite as intrusive.

My last trip I went from downtown to the Orleans and struggled to get my luggage over the bridge and around MGM to catch the 201 to the Orleans.  The corner was closed to pedestrians. 
The corner for walking was open this trip, but there still was construction there and for quite a section going North.

We saw the Bellagio fountains and those were fine. I liked them again. 
I liked the night view of Excalibur from the 201 bus stop. 
I liked some of the sights at night with the lights and these fine glasses I have that sharpen my vision. 
But I'm too old for all this construction and it offends my senses.

I liked the view of Vegas from afar like that view from on top of Mandalay Bay at one of the parties Jim took us too.  That still held romance. It was amazing and with a little red wine it was even more amazing.  Wine has always enhanced my sense of night and lights.  I remember as a young man with a very old hand held camera, taking a time exposed photo of the lights over Toledo from a stone staircase.  I remember it perfectly. 

Mostly strip views did not satisfy this trip.  Don't fret Vegas, it's not you, it's me.  I'm old and I want you finished and unchanging.



 

TR Snippet - Comedyx

SIN CITY

These guys are still up to their tactics of representing lower prices than they have.  On the strip a fellow was passing out complimentary passes, but when folks got to the theater, they found out that the "one drink plus tax and box office fees" meant that it cost $15 for this free show.
It is not that this is a bad price, only that it feels sleazy.
On the way out I asked Vanessa,
"What does it cost to come to the show with these long complimentary passes?"
And she went into such a carney spiel about how they had to cover the box office expenses and the taxes and on and on, comparing it to Groupon, until I finally interrupted her.
"So What does it COST to go to the show with these tickets?"
I think my tone and eye contact got through to her.
"Fifteen dollars."
"And then do I have to buy a drink?"
"No that is included."
I think I paid $20 for the show with drink on Groupon.  I can only drink red wine or water.  The wine was very sad and the worst I have had on the trip to Vegas anywhere. 
I don't think that is outrageous pricing, but it is more than I paid for any other comedy or similar show.  I think I am done with Sin City.
They had the same host I saw last time and one comic along with the Burlesque.
I loved the comic but could not rise to the others.  However, I think that is really more about my mood than about the show. 
In most comedy shows there is a funny host and two comics.
There is no question that the $12 show at Bally's was a better deal.  Here they had three comics and no bullshite.

LVC

After the Mentalist, we were allowed to stand in line and see the LVC comedy show for free.  
I did not laugh much.
In all fairness I was tired and the themes were pretty raw and not my style.  A Mississippi comic cracked on his own culture and on being fat.  Perhaps some of the jokes were a bit clever, but his delivery was very weak.  I saw him again at the LA comedy Club at Bally's later in the week doing the same material, and he seemed better.
The second comic was a Black guy who also seemed just a bit over the edge.  He exploited racial stereotypes of the Black family, including the idea that no Dad lives with his baby Momma.
The headline did have very good delivery, but his themes again were all sexual and all about the inadequacy of marriage.
I'm not offended by any of this, but I do get bored.
Wild Bill says I just see too much comedy and that other tourists who see one show when they come don't get as jaded as I get. 
And I was overtired.
And our free seats were in a small section quite a ways from the stage and set off at an angle.  No comic actually played to us, and it was so isolated that the woman behind me talked and a young boy of about 13 lay down on three seats and went to sleep while his mother texted and nearly blinded me with the cell phone.
So I was overtired and annoyed.
I don't quite understand why folks would bring two preteens to a raw comedy show and not walk out, but one of the funniest things was to see this youngster who was supposedly being corrupted by the constant Fuuuk and sexual material (including references to shaved vaginas and sex with sheep) fell asleep.  Doesn't that add argument to my impression that this was pretty boring.
I don't quite understand the fascination with the word Fuuuk in comedy.  Are we to assume the audience has not heard this word?  Does it never lose its power?  Perhaps I am jaded having taught in the inner city for so long where it was the most common adjective. 
One of my lessons in language was to attack it as a word that eliminated more exact and powerful vocabulary.  And shite as well.   Both are crutch words and preclude the learning of precise new vocabulary.
I tired to get the students to see that the real problem was not so much the disrespect shown (all teens love to disrespect adults whether with these words or "whatever") but that overuse encouraged habits of weak modification. 
One of my colleagues had a great lesson on the word in which she showed that could work in a sentence as almost any part of speech, including the obscure gerund.  Kids hearing their teacher use the work were perhaps for the first time amused by grammar. 
She was asked to stop by administration.
Yeah.  Like those inner city kids who had all been kicked out of regular highs school needed to be protected from such vocabulary so that it could be seen as totally in their power and the shock value would be enhanced so that they had even more reason to choose it.
In most cases telling a teacher "Fuuuk you" in any context was grounds for being sent to the office and perhaps sent home for the day.  Who invented this punishment for inner city kids must have been raised somewhere I never taught because it was no punishment for most of my students to be sent out on the streets for a day rather than having to study.
I did something very different.  I wanted to take away the power of the speaker, especially the power of his audience.   So my answer was the same one I learned in the Air Force.
"Sorry, no time for romance, I've got to teach," and then perhaps  "but thanks for the offer" or  " sorry, you are not my type"  
Students then laughed at the student using the word and the speaker lost his/her audience, lost the power of the word,  and also lost immediate suspension for a day.   In inner city classrooms it won over the audience and often,  if fukk had  just had been said in a moment of frustration got a chuckle out of the speaker. 
And when I was challenged, I could again tell them to think about what they were saying and what the words meant and to choose a way to complain that would give them real respect.
I suppose nowadays I'd be in the principal's office.
Well, to get back to the comedy.  If all it takes to get a laugh is the word "fuuuk" then I could have just stayed in my classroom and not bothered with comedy shows.  There was no ticket charge for those years of improved standup.  In fact, I got paid for the pleasure of the show.

RIVIERA

I know you think of this casino as downscale, but the comedy is upscale and cheaper than the others with no added fees and no hassle over drinks.  They even say that in their advertisements in the Vegas magazines.  "No other additional charges."  Clearly this slaps Sin City in the face. 
And you can buy a drink at a reasonable price.  Merlot was $6 for a full cup as opposed the the half cup at Sin City for $9.  Beer was the same.  Wild Bill had 2 for 1 coupons for drinks along with his free coupons for the show (he stayed at the Riviera) and so for $7 (with tip) we each had a drink. 
The red wine at Sin City tasted almost too terrible to drink.  Riviera's was fine.  It is not the upscale wine I had when the brother-in-law picked malbec at the Capital Grill, but it was as good as anything I get in the casinos.
Plus, there was not bait and switch on tickets, no confusion as to what was free, no added drink minimum.  There are two free tickets in the American Casino Guide.  I don't think you will be disappointed.  It is a sleeping bargain.  Groupon and such sites also have periodic sales.
John Bizarre was playing again.  I must have seen this fellow 6 times and much of his material is used over again, but his energy, body and facial expressions, energy, and clever spins on common happenings was more entertaining than the other comics.  A second comic was also very good, good timing, good twists.  Fuuuk certainly must have been said, but it was not the main attempt at humor.
The club is comfortable and nice.  The people are easy and accommodating. 
I don't get the idea when I go that the club is trying to squeeze me.
 

TR Snippet The show O and Zumanity

We saw O today.  It was amazing again.  It was surprising to me how fresh it seemed.  I really remembered very little detail.  I loved it and I’d go again on another trip.

I particularly want to investigate the three contortionists, Asian girls who looked like sisters.

I loved all the high flying acts and the great dives.  I had not remembered the scuba divers in one section being brought up like fish out of water, flopping their fins.  They must be the source of water for the actors who just disappear in the water. 

The clowns I remembered and they were funny in a very subtle and mimed way.  We actually got a photo of them in the preshow comedy.   Audience on stage in an interesting part of the show.  The main character comes out of the audience, but is a plant.  I am not certain of the two who dance with the clowns, but one seemed very skilled.

We sat next to a fellow from Sandusky, Ohio who came to Vegas for his son’s wedding and was the only one to sit on the son’s side for the ceremony.  He did not gamble, but he did have a full set of shows planned.  It was sad to think of him all on his own.  His brother was supposed to come and cancelled.

My seat was just a few seats from where I sat last time.  I like being center stage for this show.  We were close enough to see everything, but not very far away. 

We went out pretty early for the tickets and the buffet, so we had to take two shuttle trips in the same day.  The buffet was fine and unlike my oatmeal breakfast good on my sugar numbers.  Perhaps it is just all the walking helping that number reduce.   I started yesterday at 153. Spiked to 223 but after the buffet I was back to 119 where I belong.   Mostly I ate smoked trout and pickled herring.  I did taste a tiny sliver of the end of a flank steak.  I had plenty of vegetables and huge portions of mushrooms.  Everything was very good.  I even had a butterscotch cookie for dessert.

Once again getting tickets was a breeze.  We managed to pick them up for the Zumanity show as well in one easy stop.  I only had managed one buffet ticket, but the price now for the Bellagio is lower than Spice Market over at PH.  It was 23 dollars.  All you can drink is 10 dollars.  That seemed pretty good.  I did not get that.  In fact, I have not had a drink except for the Smithwick’s at McMullen’s.  Elizabeth carried in some cognac in a water bottle from home and that gives her a little nightcap if she wants.

I did remember being more tired last time.  This time I had a terrible time sleeping the night before and finally got to be in the middle of the day and slept out my weariness.  I even slept through Elizabeth going swimming.  It was perfect planning and I was more rested for this show than any show I remember in the past. 

On the way through from the shuttle drop off we had coffee at one of the streetlike cafes in Paris.  That was perfect.  I actually got two coffees for the price of one.  For sweetener I added a small drop of anise and that sure makes a great drink with no stevia.

ZUMANITY

I can see why folks were offended by this raw show or disappointed that it is SO very different from the other Cirque shows.  We liked it just the same.  I did not take good notes, so I don't have details.  It seemed funny and risqué and a nice free treat from My Vegas

TR Snippet- The Mentalist

I am sure this was a free groupon.  I can't remember if there was a fee, but that makes the show about $10.
compare Groupon to Living Social to Gold Star on fees.
I liked the show, but it was not hard to figure out the way the "magic" was conducted.  He seemed to be reading minds by touching cards we filled out preshow, but actually that was the material he used.  I was in line afterward with the main couple he had engaged in mind reading and all of the information he used they had put on the card.  At first she had not stood up.  Another person with her initials had stood.  He combined information from both her and her husband, but it was all on the card. 
The nailgun trick does make me cringe.  Surely some night the fellow will in some way make a mistake.  Still, I knew that he had a way of knowing which gun had bullet nails and which did not.  The audience member picked "left" from two choices and he picked up the gun that was "left" for the audience, but "right" for her.  Clearly he would pick that gun whatever she said.  I had seen a similar bit on Mike Hammer.
The ball trick where numbers appear on a card in an enclosed envelop is clearly slight of hand with the numbers written and faced where they could be copied.  The guy who had his pin number read seemed like a plant to me, especially when he said, "Ladies and gentlemen, this man is amazing, he is absolutely right."
But it was entertainly just the same and well worth the small amount I paid for a ticket.

TR snippet - Toast of the Town/Bad Grandpax

This variety show is on at Sam's town at 2 PM every Thursday.  Tickets are free when you swipe your B Connected card at a kiosk. Each week is a totally different show, except for the back up band.
 Before the show, they do a drawing for giveaway purses or CD's or other promotional gifts, so come early if you want to be in the drawing, or if you want a prime seat.  It fills up with seniors. 

The music in the show generally features the old chestnuts of past years, but since it is different every week, you can't be sure.

October 24
This was an amazing show, perhaps one of the best I have seen.
The host was Derrick Richards, a comic and singer who had a bit of the style of Chris Rock, but the looks of Sammy Davis Junior.
The tone of the show was more soul and less sentimentality.  I liked that.
The two main vocalists were called Champagne and Caviar.  They sang well loved songs and added a soul flavor.  They tried hard for audience participation and even once came down into the audience and shook hands and gave high fives. Their outfits were black with tops that had glitter.  Their stage choreography was energetic and fun.  One of the fellows was a huge man, more like a football player than a dancer.  Vocal interpretations included voice modulation.
Songs included:
You Were Always on My Mind (check Elvis note)
Bring It Home to Me
Sugar Pie Honey (one of the best)
Story of Love  Glory of Love  (Beaches)
Derrick sang  Candy Man and Lovely Day.  He did look like Sammy Davis
Also singing was Jessica Vanic, a 14 year old Freshman who was shy when speaking but had an incredible stage presence and a voice to match.  She sang a song about being in apartment 14G and hearing opera below her and skat music above her and she would sing those parts as well.  It was one of the most entertaining songs I have ever heard. 
Here is the song http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kl7r4nBHgv4

She also did a fine version of Paper Moon.
The comic appearing is at the Riviera this week, and I guess I want to put off a visit there. I liked him, but I'm betting that his material would be repeated.  He jokes about being in Vegas and about general trends.  At one point he had some Jesus jokes and one great Christmas joke where his mother calls him and wants him to come home for Christmas because up North it snows and snow is essential for the true meaning of Christmas.  "Mom," he says, "Jesus was born in a desert.  He was surrounded by sun and sand and  Jews........I'm in Southern Florida."
 
The second show was on Halloween and not as smooth.  All the folks were in costumes. The host I've seen before, and he is talented but well past his prime, and so sure of himself I guess he does not rehearse.  He stumbled a bit through the show.  It is a relaxed venue, but should not be that relaxed. 
Still, Wild Bill and I had a good time.  The comic told some old jokes, but was funny. 

This trip I tried to play a bit on the day of the show  at the Full Pay Deuces I go so my average is not eroded by attending the Toast of the Town.
Also, the first Thursday I had earned with play two free tickets to the movies and Bill and I saw Bad Grandpa. 
Now, those who are easily offended need to skip this show and no one should bring a grandkid, but Bill and I loved it.  The unique aspect is it was filmed in front of real people like candid camera, so the actors do outrageous things in front of everyday people who don't have a clue what is going on.  Great and funny skits.

We had eaten a 2 for 1 buffet on a voucher from Webpass at the Eastside Cannery, so it was a fine day on Boulder, full of coupons and freebies.

TR Snippet - Jeff Civillico and Turf

This is a show well worth your time.  I liked it better than most of the comedy and better than the Mentalist.  It is juggling with jokes.

It opened with this contortionist from America's Got Talent. 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3gBzOkuZFMU
I had great seats and was right next to the extended portion of the state where this fellow did part of his act.  He certainly could twist his body in very unusual ways.

 
Jeff was much better than I expected.   He is not the polished and sophisticated stereotype.  He is fresh and energetic and just naturally funny.  His facial expressions are full of good humor and fun.  He that college goofball guy who you just love to have around you. 
He is a fine juggler and he gets folks juggling with him, interacting with the audience in ways I have not seen and it is easy and friendly and fun.
 
The show was packed.

TR Snippet Meetups

Meeting up with board friends is not an easy task for me.  Although I go for long periods of time, I go for a slow and unscheduled pace and I like to be away from schedules.

My sleeping is an issue. I never know when I can sleep and when I can’t.  Vegas is grand for that lifestyle.  I can always look for a poker game or an early morning VP session.  Shows alone seem hard to keep in focus.  I have to concentrate on check out days and often get them confused.  At the beginning of this trip I was totally confused on time.

I can also just take a day and do nothing but sleep.  My pace it like that.  Whenever I can sleep, I sleep and am pleased with the privilege.

 

At home when I am awake at odd hours, I write on discussion boards.  The boards are here when I am fresh and awake at whatever hour.  When I write I have time to consider, to edit, to check the elusive details.

In Vegas I am often over tired.  Sometimes in conversation I can’t remember words or details of anything I’d like to say. 

Lack of sleep retards my functions.

 Lately I have been drinking almost no alcohol so I don’t lose whole days as I once did, but I am still too tired too often.

Then too I like the solo experience in Vegas, like the serendipitous meetings with strangers from all over the world at poker games, on buses, at bus stops.  I played poker with people from Nicaraqua, Eskimos from Alaska, guys from  Australia, Great Briton, Canada, Portugal.  I used my limited Spanish to help the Portuguese fellow understand the difference between limit and no limit and to engage the wife of a fellow I met at a party.

I missed meetups with my Vegas relatives this trip.  We just did not connect.

I did manage a great morning with my old locker mate from Kensington High School who now lives in Vegas.  Bob and I discussed the old days but also had good debate on politics, taxation, and Vegas in general.  He and his wife moved here a few years ago but found they did not like it.  They are going to Pennsylvania next.

Also I saw Mike (handle: hardware) who keeps in touch on my blogs arranged a meetup and video poker morning at the D after which he was kind enough to drive me out to Sam's Town.
He is a good bit younger than I am, but seems to like my writing and company.  He has plenty of interesting things to say and the time went quickly as we played a bit of VP.  It was one of my worst VP sessions. I lost nearly $100, but  I think he did well and the bartenders kept the drinks coming.  His were real.


Blonde's Board held a great meetup called Garboyle at Hennesy's downtown.  I was scheduled to make the whole meet, but they moved my Jeff Civillico show from 2 to 4 PM, and I had to rush back from the strip for just the tail end of the meetup.  Still, I met many of the folks I see on line and had some good discussion. Included were:
Kiddo, Kobi Dog, Blonde, NMChop, Eva from Germany and her husband Wolfgang, Trawna Jack, Royal Flusher, a number of people were very kind about my writing and who I remember reading often on that board. 
Nice.
It was a nice room at Hennesy's,  quiet and easy for talking.  Bonnie was in her million dollar lei outfit.  This was just brilliant!  She got a good bit of attention on the street as well.

 

TR Snippet - Interesting Strangers

I met many interesting strangers while traveling around.  I was unsure of where to catch the SDX after being dropped off at the Tropicana by the 201 from the Orleans.  Wild Bill thought I should go South.  I thought I should go North, but there was all this construction.  I asked the driver and she sent me North.  As I excited a woman I think was Vietnamese said, "Just follow me;  I'm going to that stop." and so we struck up a conversation that lasted all the way to the Riviera.
She had lived in LA with her three boys in a tiny apartment that cost $1100 a month.  She worked minimum wage jobs so all her money was going into rent.  Her drug addicted husband was constant trouble in spite of being separated and she had a mother to care for as well.
She decided to go to Las Vegas and see if she could make it.  And she was thrilled to be a success.  She works at a Home Depot and has managed a three bedroom apartment in a good neighborhood for half of what her tiny place cost in LA. 
Her boys get free after school child care.  Soon she will bring her mother too.  And the husband seems much farther away. She was happy and proud.

On the SDX one other time going downtown there were three girls who were lively and having a good time.  One was from Scotland.  One was singing songs and doing the facial and hand gestures of a stage presentation. 
A tall Black man with a huge Afro and a backpack sat in front of them, but when a couple came on the bus and looked for seats, he offered his and moved to sit next to the Scottish girls.  That started a very interesting conversation in which each told parts of their lives.  He was not hitting on them, but going home to watch "The Good Wife" on television. 
It seems he sells bootleg beer from his bag on the strip and so they bought a couple cans at $2 each.
The couple that entered wore black T shirts that said bride and groom.  They were not beautiful people, but short and quirky looking, but they were beautifully happy.  Three house ago they had gotten married after being together a few years and they were in love and finding the celebration a great deal of fun.  A few wedding guests were in the front of the bus.  I loved the idea of getting married and then taking the bus.

Once the girls discovered all of this, they were very excited and got up to take pictures.  They popped open the beers and gave them to the newly married couples and it was laughter and smiles all around. 

I could see it all easily from my side seat in the SDX. 

I met plenty of interesting people playing poker.  At the Monte Carlo I used my small bit of Spanish to help an older  Portuguese gentleman understand that it was a limit table, not no limit.  The dealer had been unable to get that idea across in English.  At the Golden Nugget I met a guy from Amherst NY, a suburb of Buffalo where I was raised and not far from where I went to college.  He was very funny and he had the Buffalo accent.
There too I met some of the fellows I had played with on my last trip, including a very pleasant guy name John from the UK.
IThanks for that info on tournament tables.  I have not played tournaments there.  I might next trip.  I'm reading my Dan Harrington.  I wonder if they will pay $2 for tournament players as well.  Perhaps not. 
I really play poker as much for the people as for the game.  Vegas is rich in visitors and all have stories.  Most are on vacation, so they are easy to engage in conversation or banter at 2-4 limit.  I mostly play that.
Here is one experience I had at the Golden Nugget:
[I]I had the most fun with a young Eskimo woman and her Western dressed man.  She was the worst poker player of my trip, betting and raising on anything and losing quite a bit.  He could play, but he started to raise her if he thought he might push out others at the table, just to make the damage less severe.
He started the story telling by telling us about being a long line halibut fisherman in the Bering Straight.  One large halibut had flipped the wrong way and dumped him in the very cold water.  He could survive in that just a few minutes as he had not put on protective gear.
The captain donned protective gear and went in to save him, arriving just as he was going unconscious.
When he woke up, he was in bed with the Captain's wife.  She was dressed just in a bikini and held him tightly in her arms. 
"Oh..oh, he thought.  I am really in trouble now."
But this was at the captain's bidding, a way to warm him up and bring him back to a conscious state.
It turned out there were two other players at that table who had fished the Bering Straight.

The Alaskan girl, Juanita, told me about cooking fish in her village.  She said they used a curry that they made there in a traditional recipe or perhaps they used thyme.  There was too much catsup in her recipes, but I've now tried just thyme and liked it.

Once after I bet a hand and she folded, I collected chips and said, "Well, I put out the bait, but no fish bit."
Juanita did not miss a beat, "Maybe you need a longer rod."

Coming in such a dry delivery from this sweet girl, this crack was one of the funniest jokes of my trip.

She and he man bickered a bit about when they would leave and he left her to pack up and get ready to drive out.  They had a six hour drive and he wanted to get on the road.  She wanted to stay and play. 
While her man  was gone, another player moved to her left and used her betting to raise when he was strong and narrow the field.
She was a great puzzle to many of the players and one of the newest at the other end of the table suspected collusion.
"Are you two together?" he asked, pointing to the fellow to her and the fellow to  her left.
"No," the table answered.
"I looked at him and said, "She and I are together," and that really left the other end puzzled for a long minute.
"You are a couple?" the fellow asked incredulously.
"Yeah," I answered, "In my dreams."
And the table cracked up. 
For an old guy such interaction with a sweet and pretty young thing is a great deal of fun.  I don't get much of this anywhere these days except in Vegas.[/I]


Fisherman were all over the Golden Nugget this year.  I met a fellow who traveled all over the world to fish Salmon. He lived on Kodiak Island in Alaska.  He was not a great story teller, but he had great passion talking about salmon.
Right at the table with the Eskimo girl was another fellow who had fished the Berring Straight only with a trawling net.

At that same table on another day I met a fellow who lives now in Thailand, but lived a long while in Central America.  He and his buddy behind him told about Nicaraqua and I'm interested in going.  He had build an apartment complex on a high cliff at Ocatal Beach on the Western shore of Costa Rica.  This is one of my favorite beaches for swimming and snorkeling.

I met another fellow older than I am who had lived most of his adult life on sailboats.  He now lived in Bermuda.  In between boats he had built an orphanage in Thailand and lived there a while.  He loved the kids.  He said that he had delivered a boat from South Africa to Miami once, but that generally if he wanted to live in a place, he did not sail there, but sold his boat and bought on in his new location.
It was a hard life to keep a steady woman relationship.  Hard to get a boat "wench" as he put it.  He had had a long relationship that just ended because she needed to be near grandchildren from a previous marriage.
He handled his medical needs by depending on the Veterans hospitals, but I guess he had been very healthy most of his life.  That is a poor way to get health care.
I asked him about pirates and he said that the sailors talk and know pretty much where it is safe.  He also thought that he was not much of a target for pritates, but I would be afraid to be at risk of kidnapping or worse.

TR Snippet - Buffets

BUFFETS

I am next to useless as a buffet reviewer because I use buffets to avoid and limit carbs, meats, dairy, sugar, and to eat vegetables and fish with meat only once in a while for a treat.   
I pick the cheaper buffets because they are just as good at basic salads.
Also I tend to eat midday to save money and the better foods are often saved for later.
So I know that Main Street Station is a great buffet, but I never eat there anymore because it is not great for me. 
The Golden Nugget has smoked salmon and all the fixin's for great lox, except sometimes the creamy horseradish is missing. 
 
I rarely eat an evening buffet as the lunch is fine for me.  Often a meal otherwise is a handful of nuts and a piece of fruit.  I get good value from the free fruit at the El Cortez Cabana rooms.  They even have pears!

When I was with my wife for the upscale portion of the trip, we used MyVegas deals to eat free or 2 for 1 at Bellagio and Aria.  Both offered me plenty of choices.  I loved Aria the first visit, but was less enthused the second. However,  it may be that the meal at the Capital Grill overshadowed all tastes the day afterwards just as the bland taste of the hot crab is poor competition with our winter life of fresh stone crab three times a week or even the lobster bisque at Capital Grill or the oyster stew at Al's in the Orleans (not on the menu) 

Here are my notes on Aria:

We took a cab from the Orleans to Aria.  Fare was $9.50.  The cabby went the back street and it did not take long at all.  This put us in good time for the midday buffet and cut out some of the walking we would have had we taken the Tropicana bus.

I liked the feel of Aria and I loved the buffet.  It is my new favorite buffet.  They had plenty of interesting gourmet tastes all labeled clearly on chalk boards.  There were plenty of foods that fit perfectly into my diet. 
I ate steamed clams. 
There were also mussels. 
And there was crab all split and somewhat warmed up on a steaming table.  It was all good.  The cod with sauce was fine but not hot enough and not my favorite. 
In very tiny green salad cups were two anchovies unlike any I eat at home.  These looked like fresh fish.  They were salted but not overwhelmingly so. 

They had some mild machego cheese.  It was good, but not really what I've eaten in Spain. 

There was an extensive Mid Eastern section.  I only tried the curried lentil soup.  It was really good and not the plain, generic stuff usually served in Indian places.

The coffee was good. Elizabeth thought it was just okay.  That is a high evaluation for her on any buffet coffee.  I thought it was some of the best coffee I have had.

I liked the assortment of hot sauces and picked one to drop in my tomato juice.  There was also both regular and creamy horseradish and that made a virgin bloody Mary. 

The music was louder and faster than I would pick, but they mixed the songs.  There was some of the whiny modern sounds and the songs with lyrics that no one could understand interspersed with :Oh, Oh, Oh. Oh….      This sort of stuff seems to be a fad for filing in when the lyrics are exhausted.  However, there were Spanish and Italian musical cuts as well as some older songs.  It was not the best, but better than many places.

At about 3:30 they brought out the supper foods and there was plenty of interesting meats, so I had a taste of lamb leg.  It was lean and tasty.  They also had lamb ribs.  I think this is only offered on the weekend nights.

I liked the windows to the trees outside and when I go again, I’ll asked to sit by the window.

For dessert I had a small piece of very rich chocolate.  I liked it.  Also I had a small slice of pecan pie that was wonderful as well.  Well worth going off the diet

EASTSIDE CANNERY

I'm probably the only guy who likes this place.  It is cheap and I can eat here.  Also I have a zillion points from when I played Webpass on their site and this trip I managed to have a local friend print out my vouchers for food, drink and a fine hat.  The redemption procedure is ridiculous, but I do like free. (see last review)  I don't play any games there.  MyVegas is much superior.  But I check in for three minutes every day and get 700 so I keep current and can earn a free buffet for every trip. (Perhaps 2)
They first earn my respect because they have Cholula.  Places with only Tabasco need to get with the times.  Any Louisiana sauce would be fine.  And at the Asian station there were two other hot sauces.
Drink refills do not need the server.  You can just go up when you are thirsty and help yourself.
That being said, the servers are very, very attentive.  Each time I ended up over tipping.
The music is old chestnuts....  well not Sinatra old, but I heard Buddy Holly.....and the music is not so loud that you can't talk or hear yourself think.
I used a 2 for 1 from the Webpass and took poker buddy Bill on the Thursday we did Boulder.  I liked the mahi mahi that day.

I usually go off my diet for the black and white yin yang moon cookies or perhaps for one with M and M's.

GOLDEN NUGGET

My main food spot now downtown is the buffet at the Golden Nugget.  I usually go for breakfast, but on Halloween I went for an off diet supper.  Using the $10 poker voucher the meal is under $10 cash.  The food sure tasted good.  I ate chicken fajitas, salad, a small bit of exceptionally delicious mushroom soup flavored with a very small bit of grilled steak.  The deep fried shrimp are delicious.  I also mixed up some vegetable dishes and made my own versions.  For dessert it was the nuts off the top of a slice of pecan pie.
Saturday is a good day to use the $10 coupon for breakfast.  It cost me $6 for the Golden Nugget buffet and there was creamy horseraddish for my lox with tomato, onion, and capers.  Lox is my usual pick. 
Weekdays the breakfast is only a dollar more than the poker voucher. 
Sundays it is a bit more expensive and I go other places.
Diane is my favorite waitress.  She went out of her way to see I had creamy horseradish one morning for my lox. 
Avoid the greens if you don't want sugar in the diet.  They are heavily into sugar.  Why  a place will have healthy greens and then add so much sugar that we can taste it is beyond me.
However, there is plenty of interesting salads and a large selection of fruits including nice pink grapefruit and canned pears.  The egg maker is very accommodating and does a fine job cooking healthy omelets of eggs over easy. 

ORLEANS

We had the lunch buffet before the pool.  Good offerings here are made better with Cholula hot sauce .  The mendula is just wonderful.  I think it is really pozole.  I take just the broth and so I think that I am closer to my diet.
I had some cabbage and a good salad using just vinegar and the hot sauce. Refried beans were good and I added a small bit of chili.  Some pumpkin ginger soup seemed to have too much sugar.  I drank lots of coffee and liked it. 
Elizabeth hated the coffee. 
She had a good sampling of meats and I guess she did okay.  I had a small taste of tuna.  For dessert I had caramel sugar free iced cream.  That was great.

SPICE MARKET

As a treat I went to the Spice Market.  The price has increases since it was the most affordable, but with a destination.com coupon and the last of my Harrah's points I got supper for $23.  I wanted supper because I wanted to go off my diet and have lamb.
They did not have the grilled lamb I remember, but they did have tasty bits of leg of lamb and I was satisfied.   The tempura shrimp made the meal.  Other tastes were fine too.  It was a night of indulgence for me, the only real time I left the diet alone and just had what I wanted.